As a record medium that is recordable and detachable from a recording and reproducing apparatus, that has a relatively large recording capacity, and that is suitable for recording AV (Audio/Video) data composed of video data and audio data, so far, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) that has a recording capacity of 4.7 GB (Giga Bytes) or more has been widely used. Patent document “Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-350251” describes an image capturing apparatus that records DVD-Video formatted data to a recordable type DVD.
Video data and audio data are generally recorded on a record medium in the unit of video data created after the record start operation until the record stop operation. A reproduction region and a reproduction order of the video data created after the record start operation until the record stop operation are generally designated with reproduction list information. When a recorded AV stream is managed in the unit of video data created after the record start operation until the record stop operation with reproduction list information, the AV stream can be easily edited by freely setting the reproduction region and the reproduction order of the AV stream without necessity of processing the AV stream on the record medium.
It is assumed that video data and audio data are recorded as files to a record medium. For example, video data and audio data are recorded as files in the unit of data created after the record start operation until the record stop operation. Since video data and audio data are recorded as files, they have a more affinity to other apparatus such as a computer apparatus. Thus, recorded data can be expected to be more effectively used.
Thus, when video data and audio data that have been continuously recorded as files to one record medium according to a sequences of record start operations and record stop operations are reproduced in the order of which they have been recorded, it is necessary to perform a particular technique. For example, it can be contemplated that information about a plurality of units of video data and audio data that are continuously recorded to one record medium according to a sequence of record start operations and record stop operations is controlled to be additionally written to one reproduction list file that stores reproduction list information. When such a recording control is performed, it becomes easy to continuously reproduce a plurality of units of video data and audio data that have been recorded.
When information about video data and audio data that are continuously recorded is controlled to be additionally written to a reproduction list file whenever the record start operation and the record stop operation are preformed, the data size of the reproduction list file increases whenever the record start operation and the record stop operation are performed. On the other hand, it is contemplated that in a recording apparatus and a reproducing apparatus, the reproduction list file is temporarily read to the memory and video data and audio data recorded as files are reproduced according to the reproduction list file. In addition, another management information with which video data and audio data that have been recorded to the record medium is read to the memory. Thus, as the size of the reproduction list file becomes large, it consumes the memory space. Thus, as a problem of the conventional apparatus, other processes may be adversely affected.
When video data and audio data are recorded as files, it is necessary to provide a mechanism that can search video data for a frame to be reproduced and easily edit video data in the unit of one frame. To do that, it can be contemplated that for example reproduction time information of video data and addresses of files of video data are correlated. Data that represent the relationship between the reproduction time information and addresses of files increases as video data are recorded. Thus, in this case, when video data and audio data are recorded or reproduced, the data that represent such a relationship becomes large and it consumes the memory space. Thus, as a problem of the conventional apparatus, other processes may be adversely affected.
In addition, as a problem of the conventional apparatus, when video data are tried to be recorded in the state that the memory space is insufficient, the system may forcibly stop recording video data and audio data or hang up.
Moreover, in recent years, a variety of video formats have been commonly used. With respect to scanning lines and scanning methods, these formats include 480i having 480 scanning lines, 576i having 576 scanning lines, 1080i having 1080 scanning lines, and so forth as interlace scanning formats and 480p having 480 scanning lines, 576p having 576 scanning lines, 720p having 720 scanning lines, 1080p having 1080 scanning lines, and so forth as progressive scanning formats.
In addition, a recording apparatus needs to record video data according to such various types of formats. Moreover, video data need to be recorded in a plurality of formats to one record medium. However, as described above, when information of video data and audio data continuously recorded as files to the record medium is controlled to be additionally written to one reproduction list file, it is likely that a trouble occurs on the reproducing apparatus side that reproduces files from the record medium. As a problem of the conventional apparatus, when video data and audio data recorded as files are continuously reproduced according to the reproduction list file, if the format of video data of the next file is different from that of the preceding file, the decoder cannot perform its process at a proper timing or the apparatus may stop because of a hang-up of the decoder.